Sunday, March 20, 2011

While Sundays are usually reserved for dissertating (or planning lessons), I am having a hard time tearing myself away from The Great Gatsby online video game. Done to look like an original NES video game, you step into the shoes of Nick Carraway (Gatsby's narrator) as you battle evil waiters, dancing flappers, and the eyes of Dr. T. J. Eckleburg in the Valley of Ashes.

Image from Mental Floss's newsletter

So just how did this video game, which manages to combine geekdom in its purest forms (retro video games and classic literature)? The game's website claims that someone found the game in a yard sale. The site also includes a picture of the cartridge, as well as scans from the supposed original manual. However, it turns out that the game is actually the brainchild of two people who love old NES games (and, apparently, classic books). You can read all about it in articles from The Economist and The Washington Post blog.